When The Dirt Is Washed Away (Here's To Us)
by Quills and Inkwells
Summary: AU. Post 4x20. Complete. That night, in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans, a bloody battle raged; a battle over a throne. It was the six members of that screwed up little family that led the battle, because this battle was personal. That night, they fought to take back a kingdom. That night, they fought for Niklaus. "They were monsters in the name of love and family".


They were a motley crew, all standing in the front room of the grand old mansion in New Orleans. The six adults were covered in blood and dirt, their clothes torn, and hair grimy. They all looked as if they had just come from a battlefield. And, well, they had.

One of the two blonde women in the room was holding a small baby, clothed in a pink sleeper. She sighed heavily, before speaking. "I think it is best if I take Natalia to bed. She's been through an ordeal today, just like the rest of us."

"I will join you." The man named Niklaus said, smiling softly at the woman holding his daughter. Caroline cracked a smile back, and the couple headed off into another part of the house.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I seriously need a shower." Katherine tossed back her curls, her ever-present smirk plastered on her face. "Join me, 'Lijah?" She asked as she headed towards the hallway, Elijah following right behind her.

"_Ugh._ Can you seriously not make innuendos right now Katherine? I really do _not_ want to hear about that." Rebekah, the other blonde, made a nasty face. She was leaning against a tall, blonde and blue-eyed man, his expression just as disgusted as hers.

"Hopefully they will be the only thing we_ hear_ tonight, cupcake. These walls aren't sound-proof, you know!" Katherine countered, grasping Elijah's hand and pulling him after her, the sound of her stiletto boots resonating within the empty house.

"I'm going to stake that bitch." Rebekah muttered, glaring at the hallway.

"No, you won't. Sure, she's an evil, conniving, bitch, but she makes your brother happy, so you won't kill her." Matt said, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Why must you always be right? Honestly, it can be very annoying." She pouted. "She was right about one thing though."

"Oh, and what was that?"

"Showers. We both smell like the village I lived in as a human—that was not a compliment, mind you—and we're _covered_ in dirt. So, either one of us can go first, or we can conserve water together. And frankly, I like the idea of the latter." She looked up into his gorgeous eyes that always made her melt, and gave him her most pleading eyes.

"Lead the way, Beks." He laughed, and she did as well, the smile making her face beautiful even underneath all of the dirt.

-0-0-0-0-0-

A couple of hours later, the six adults were lounging around the large sitting room; thankfully much cleaner than they had been previously.

Caroline was curled up next to Klaus in the loveseat, her head resting on his shoulder. He was playing with her golden curls, wrapping them around his fingers, or simply just running his hands through them. Rebekah was laying across the sofa, her feet resting in Matt's lap, and near the fireplace, Katherine had made herself quite at home in Elijah's lap, her feet hanging over the armrest. There was an air of gloom hanging over their heads, as if their victory was shrouded in a dark mist. They were not the picture of a happy group—a tension was present that culminated in silence.

Suddenly Caroline jumped up from the loveseat, leaving a startled Klaus in her wake.

"What on earth are we doing?" She looked around at all of her companions, getting blank stares.

"I don't think we quite understand you, love." Klaus said.

"We just won a war! We should be celebrating! I mean, sure, there were great costs. We had setbacks. But all that means is that we overcame those problems and still won! Yes, Hayley died. But I mean, let's be honest, the only reason she was even here in the first place was because of Natalia. She would never have been part of this family had she remembered to use a little thing called birth control, and we all know it. I won't say that I wanted her dead…"

"Oh, you so did at times, and don't you dare deny it." Katherine interjected.

"Okay, so I wanted her dead _before_ she was pregnant. As I was saying before I was so _rudely_ interrupted," She shot a playful glare at Katherine. "yes, she's dead. Yeah, it sucks. But we cannot let her death prevent us from enjoying our victory! We have worked our asses off for the last few months—most especially in the past few days—and we all almost died tonight. Yet, we won, and the Quarter is back under the rightful control! And I am damn well going to celebrate that!" Caroline finished, gesturing wildly with her hands as she spoke, pacing back and forth before finally coming to a stop facing Klaus.

"Well I'm with Caroline." Rebekah piped in. "I would much rather celebrate what we actually did accomplish than sit here and mope."

"That's good enough for me! I'll get the alcohol!" Katherine exclaimed gleefully, hopping up from her perch on Elijah's lap. She was back moments later carrying multiple bottles, before going back to grab glasses for everyone.

"Did you bring the entire contents of my alcohol cabinet, darling?" Elijah asked, eyeing the very large pile of bottles on the coffee table with some disdain.

"Of course I did. You have the only stuff worth drinking in this place. Don't worry, I'll order more to restock tomorrow." She said, popping up on her toes and pecking his cheek. "Besides, I'll…make it up to you tonight." Tossing her partner a wink, Katherine sashayed over to grab a drink, while Elijah looked after her fondly.

* * *

Once everyone had managed to get their respective drinks—and significantly deplete Elijah's supply—they had all settled back down in their former seats. Overall, the mood of the room was not much different than it had been before, except now the occupants felt the fire of alcohol in their throats. Caroline looked around at the room, and sighed. She caught Rebekah's glance, who gave her a "well go on, you started this" look. Rolling her eyes, Caroline stood up and raised her glass.

"Well—since clearly we are just going to sit around here if _someone_ doesn't do something—I would like to propose a toast." She said. "Here's to life, and happiness."

"Here's to love." Rebekah chimed in, smiling at the girl who had come to be her friend. Yes, she had _friends_. Even Kat had become a friend, once they had gotten over all of the words they had said and things that they had done. Her brothers were happy and in love—no one was fighting, for once—and she had fallen in love with a man that would not walk away. Someone who truly loved her, for all that she was. Her family was complete.

"To the days when we couldn't be sure who was really on our side, and all we had was each other." Klaus raised his glass, giving a soft look to the woman that he loved more than life itself. Caroline had changed him, he knew that all too well. But, now that he had actually accepted that he could be good, and that she really did honestly love him, he found that he was much less angry and bitter than he had been before. He had been able to show _kindness_ to those that had wronged him, and just get over the past, all because of her influence. She was an angel, and she did not even see it.

"Here's to the good days, and to us not breaking down on the bad ones." Matt smiled. He was the most unusual of them all—the lone human in the room—though he had plans to talk to Bekah about that soon. He did want to be with her for forever, after all, though that ring in his sock drawer would have to wait until he talked to Klaus and Elijah first. Rebekah was nothing if not a traditional girl.

"To giving them all hell." Katherine laughed, joining in. If she had been told a year ago that she would be sitting in this mansion, with this group of people, in one year, she would have laughed in their face. A year ago, the thought of her having fun with this group of people was ludicrous. Finally, five hundred and twenty-one years after she was turned, she had a family again. She was with the man that she had loved for too long, and she was with people who enjoyed being in her presence. It was all that she could ever ask for.

"Here's to the mistakes we made, and the friends we made in the process." Elijah smiled. This was all that he had ever wanted. His family was co-existing, and there was not any bloodshed. No one was daggered. Sure, they had their little spats. It was only natural to have them. But they were never long-lasting. It seemed that after a thousand years, they were finally able to be a family, even if there were missing spots where Kol and Finn should be. It was all they had ever wished for.

"And here's to us, the craziest family on the planet. For always, and forever." Caroline finished. She smiled so wide, it hurt her cheeks. To say that she had liked this group of people back in Mystic Falls (well, except for Matt), was a gross understatement. Katherine was the one who turned her into a vampire, Rebekah had given off the first impression of a stone cold bitch, and Elijah had never been on her "Trustworthy People" list. Klaus… Well, he snuck up on her. She had first seen him as the sadistic, paranoid, and hyper-controlling monster that he had been. But slowly, without her ever really noticing, he had worn down her heart. And she had found herself _missing_ him when he was gone. He was the reason that they had fought tonight, and she would not take back a minute of the past few months—or years, for that matter—for anything. In that moment, Caroline felt as if her whole had been building up to that very moment, in the living room of a grand old mansion in New Orleans, with the people that she now called her family.

"Always, and forever." The six adults drank as one, and from that moment, the tone in the room changed, and laughter reigned.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The dark air of gloom did not reign over the laughing heads anymore. Instead of revisiting the horrors of that bloody battlefield in the heart of the Quarter that night, the fighters were able to celebrate what they had accomplished. They had won a war. Between those six, a loyal legion of vampires that they had managed to acquire, and a very large group of formerly oppressed witches, the family had taken back what was rightfully theirs. They had taken the throne back for Niklaus, for the Mikaelson family as a whole, and for little Natalia, as it would rightfully be her kingdom one day.

* * *

Hayley had gone down while protecting her child from a group of night-walkers who had found the safehouse where she had been placed. The location had been given to Marcel by a rogue witch, and by the time Matt and his backup fighters had made it to the house, the five-month old was being protected only by the two witches who had been placed on guard. Hayley was already dead, and Matt had arranged for Natalia to be taken to the one anti-vampire zone in the city—the spelled cemetery—before leading his troops back into the raging battle.

As she was inarguably the youngest—and therefore weakest, no matter how much she had been trained by the Mikaelsons—vampire in their group, Caroline led a mixed group of vampires and witches through the back alleys and through the buildings of the Quarter, taking out all of those who were lying in wait for the Originals to come upon them. The fiercest battle that she had faced that night was when she and her regiment stumbled upon Marcel's war camp. Facing at least forty much older vampires, she and her little band took out about one third of their opponents before they had to retreat for fear of being overwhelmed and certain death.

It was Elijah and Katherine who stood in the streets of New Orleans, fighting in the thick of it. Back-to-back, they took on all that dared come near. They were vicious, ripping hearts out, and tearing heads clean off. It was bloody, but war is bloody, and this was a group of beings who dared to threaten their family. That was inexcusable, and they had to die. They had the majority of the fighters with them, right in the heart of the battle. It was a gory mess, but it was what needed to be done. They were a pair that took no survivors, merciless in their ruthlessness. Katherine was like a fallen angel as she fought, dark curls flying, her hands covered in the blood of her enemies. Elijah had managed to break his pristine appearance with the ever-multiplying amounts of blood and gore everywhere; the battle cry on his lips was the names of his fallen brothers—those who would have fought just as maniacally to save their family. In that moment, Katherine and Elijah were monsters, oh, they were. They were monsters in the name of love and family.

When Niklaus led the charge to hunt down Marcel, the one constant that he had had over the past thousand years was right beside him. For so long it had just been the two of them. They had simply been Nik and Bekah for so long together, that he would not imagine going into the final phase of the battle without his little sister right beside him. She could hold her own—that was no concern. No, the concern in the eyes of the duo that evening was for their much more fragile loved ones. For Caroline, the woman that Niklaus intended to make his queen, and for Matt, the man that had proven to be worthy of Rebekah. They were not afforded the luxury that Elijah had received; to have their beloveds beside them amidst the battle was most definitely a luxury. But, they pushed their fear and worry aside as they were required to do, and they plowed on. They were the ones that ended the battle. Marcel had been hiding in the mansion that had once been theirs, his inner circle all around him. The blonde siblings led the charge into the house, taking down any who dared to step in their way. This was to be the end, and none was going to ruin this when the throne was within Niklaus's grasp.

* * *

In the end, it had been easy. Marcel and his band of merry men put up a fierce fight—one that they were close to winning at times—but the Original siblings were what tipped the scales away from the usurper and his following in the end. At the final moment, it was Niklaus who stood over the man that had once been his protégé, his old friend, and the one that he had loved like a son, and ripped the heart out of his chest. It was a merciful death—one did acquire many useful torture techniques over a thousand years of living—and it was one that he had granted because of all that he and Marcel had shared in the past. It was a death for the little boy who had thrown the apple, and not for the man that had stolen everything that would have been freely offered to him, had he just been patient.

In the end, the French Quarter of New Orleans was still. Destruction, bodies, and an obscene amount of blood littered the beautiful city. A small group of four stormed into the place where the final battle had taken place, unsure at what they would exactly find. While they were sure that they had won the war—the decimation of Marcel's followers would be enough to ensure that—the state of their remaining family was in question. The last of their soldiers had followed the four to Marcel's place and gathered in front, awaiting the news on the final outcome.

When Caroline, Matt, Katherine, and Elijah had climbed the grand staircase, and through the hallways before they were standing at the top of the staircase that descended into the grand ballroom, they were holding their breath. What they saw instead of all that their imaginations could conjure up, was a triumphant looking Niklaus and Rebekah shaking hands with all of their fighters, the body of Marcellus Gerard lifeless on the floor.

As soon as Caroline saw that Niklaus was alive, well, and victorious, she let out a loud squeal, jumped off of the landing that she had been standing on, and ran to her love. He had, of course, been notified of her presence as soon as she squealed, and was prepared to catch her as she went flying into his arms, peppering his face with kisses, her legs around his waist as they stood amidst the gore. They were triumphant. They had won. Nik would be king, and she would be his queen. They had done it.

Matt and Rebekah had met each other halfway, and he picked her up and swung her around before they met in a searing kiss that conveyed all of the worry and fear—as well as all of the happiness—that they had felt in that long, long, day.

"We did it." He whispered as they pulled away from each other, looking into the eyes of the girl that had captured his heart.

"We did it!" Rebekah laughed, before her face turned to worry again. "Oh, are you all right? I didn't even think to check you for injuries. Did you get hurt? Did they give you some vampire blood? Or did you refuse it again, and just call it a flesh wound? A foot long gash is not a flesh wound, Matthew!" She said all this as she was running her hands down his arms and checking his face and head for any sight of a cut before ending up with her hands on her hips looking very indignant.

"I'm fine, Bekah." He laughed, which simply just made her give him an even more irritated glare than before. "I really am! I was shot in the shoulder by a crazy witch with a crossbow, but the medics gave me a bit of blood, and it all healed nicely. It wasn't even that deep of a wound anyways."

"You promise?"

"I promise." Matt said, glad to see that the smile had returned to her face. The kiss that she gave him after said smile wasn't too shabby either.

Elijah and Katherine slowly descended the stairs, his arm wrapped around her waist. Now that they were together—and considering that it had taken them five hundred and twenty years of dancing around each other to get together—they were never going to let the other go. There was no going back from what they had, they had known that when they had started their relationship. Hell, the brief separation in which he had gone to help his brother and left her behind had about killed the both of them. They both had thought that it was over then, but fate has a funny way of putting broken things back together again, and they both had been broken badly. Nothing made them happier than waking up to the other's face in the morning, and going to bed beside each other each night. They had wasted so much time because of broken promises, and lies, and mistrust. They were not going to screw it up now.

It was when the ragged family left the minions to clean up the mess, and went to go fetch Natalia, that Matt informed them of Hayley's death. They were all sad, of course. She had been a determined mother, if nothing else and she had a good heart. It was a shame that she would never see her daughter grow up. But Natalia would be well cared for. She had a loving father, a wonderful uncle in Elijah, and Rebekah and Matt doted on the baby. Caroline loved Niklaus, and while she had not originally been happy with the circumstances of his child's birth, she had fallen in love with the baby the first time she had held her. Katherine had proven to be Natalia's fiercest protector. Maybe it was due to the fact that her child had been ripped from her, maybe it was just due to her maternal instincts at the sight of a baby, but she had been the one that had always had one eye on Natalia after she was born.

Finally, they had all been able to go home, dried blood in almost every place imaginable, and bone-tired.

* * *

When they first stepped into the foyer of the grand old mansion, the six were weary. They were torn apart both physically and emotionally. The scars of a battlefield do not leave the psyche swiftly. The six adults of the family had seen horrors over their years—for some this was a thousand years, and for some it was a mere nineteen—but they had all seen destruction, nonetheless. They had entered the French Quarter that evening prepared for war, ready for whatever came at them. They fought that night to displace the False King, and to raise up the one that had built the city with his own two hands. They defeated the usurper, and placed the king on his throne.

That evening, they all fought for Niklaus.

They were a motley crew of six. First was Niklaus, the dark king with the hard heart that was melted by Caroline, the light queen who had never been first in anyone's eyes until him. Then came Elijah, the wise and just man who loved Katherine, the little peasant girl who ran, for five hundred years until they were finally able to be together. Lastly was Matt, the human who had seen terrible things, and overcame them all while fighting for Rebekah, the girl who had always loved too easily, until she met he who would fight for those he loved just as she would.

They were the strangest family. If anyone outside of their group had been asked, they would have said that those six would never make it together. That they would kill each other within a week. But they defied all odds, and came together. At first it was under the common love for little Natalia, the last hope for their family. But slowly, heart by heart, the rotten history and the hurt feelings, and all that dirtiness that was hiding beneath the surface for the six adults was swept away, and they found that they truly enjoyed everyone's company. They were brothers and sisters.

There were holes in their hearts, of course. The seats that were reserved for Kol, the brother who never needed to die, and Finn, the brother who had never wanted to become what he had, were always left open. Everyone present in that home had lost someone dear to them; everyone had been hurt without reason. The past was the past, however, and when all of the dirt was washed away, the six adults—Niklaus, Caroline, Elijah, Katherine, Matt, and Rebekah—were able to simply sit around a living room, and say "Here's to us, and all that we have accomplished". Both individually, and as a group, they had grown as people, and became a family.

For always, and forever.

* * *

**AN: So this was a little blurb that came off of the song "Here's To Us" by Halestorm. It was intended to be a happy, fluffy, little oneshot where I just made people die of Mikaelson Family feels. Yeah... That didn't really happen. My brain kind of took off, and this emotional, dramatic piece fell into place, and I just had to publish it. Anyways, I made a playlist for this piece, if anyone's interested in reading it. These were actually the songs that I listened to while writing this piece.**

**1. Here's To Us: Halestorm**

**2. Vox Populi: 30 Seconds to Mars**

**3. This Is War: 30 Seconds to Mars**

**4. Glory and Gore: Lorde**

**5. Raise The Dead: Rachel Rabin**

**Anyways, thank you so much for reading! And, if you are feeling particularly nice and decide to drop a review, I would really appreciate it! I really love reading what you guys think of what I've written.**

**Thanks so much!**

**~Inky**


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